[Bixir] Oroku Saki {Justice League}

General Information

Full Name:
Oroku Saki
Codename or Alias:
教師 || “Mentor”
黒い空 || “Black Sky”
暗い鎧 || “Dark Shell”
天狗王 || “Goblin King” (formerly)
肉屋 || “The Shredder”
Anonymity
The Shredder is a fearsome legend passed down through the generations of the Hand. It is well-known to those versed in feudal Japan and its folklore, and to the occult-inclined. It is most often depicted as a terrifying demon clad in impenetrable armor. The Shredder is most widely known as the subject of the Hand’s devotion: The Beast. Oroku Saki is a reclusive culinary master so named for the city in which he resides. He is a world-class talent who only serves the most prestigious clientele, including the Prime Minister of Japan and August General in Iron, field leader of the Great Ten.
Gender:
Male.
Race:
Reincarnated Human.
Age:
Biological Age: Fifty-three years
True Age: Over eight-hundred years
Place Of Birth:
Sakai, Japan.
Occupation/Status:
Calligrapher.
Master Chef.
Legendary Swordsman.
Ninja Master.
Reincarnated Warrior Spirit.
Demon Avatar.
Alignment:
Villain.
Factions:
The Hand.
Canon Or Original?:
Canon.
Powers/Abilities:
Indomitable Willpower
Saki possesses uncanny determination in everything that he does. From the incident that created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to his power struggles within the Hand and the Japanese government, Saki is doggedly persistent in seeing through his goals at any cost, least of all to himself. It is this unwavering devotion that drew him to the Hand, and to the point, what drew Krahllak’s attention to him in the first place. Were it not for Saki’s wholeness of mind and spirit, it is likely that the Beast’s influence would have driven him insane long ago.

Aspect of the Beast
For centuries, the Beast has inhabited dozens of human hosts, empowering each one with its infernal power. Many of these traits are passive, though in extreme circumstances, the Beast within may take hold and unleash its explicit form for brief periods. As the current host of the Beast, Oroku Saki is granted many abilities:
Preternatural Senses
Saki’s perceptiveness is uncanny, going past the limitations of the human body. His visibility is like that of a hawk, being able to perceive minute details from many kilometers away with perfect clarity. His sense of smell and taste are extremely refined, both of which have aided him in his cooking enterprise. His hearing is acute, such that even skilled assassins are unable to conceal their footsteps from him, nor is it possible to whisper from a distance without him knowing exactly what was said. Saki’s most notable sense, however, is the ability to detect the presence of magic and its influence. This sense is most keen with respect to oni, yokai, and spirits of the Far East, with which the Beast is most familiar. It is extremely difficult to hide the “touch” of magic from him without potent concealment.

Adrenaline Bloodlust
Saki has significantly more adrenaline in his body than an ordinary human. He can continue battling, seemingly without end, so long as he possesses the will to keep fighting. This dearth of fatigue comes at a price. The Beast’s affinity for death and violence is so great that an overexposure to blood may drive Saki into an uncontrollable frenzy as the Beast’s primal instincts take hold over Saki’s mortal will. This also makes Saki more prone to being provoked into reckless decisions, supernaturally concerned with his status than any man, however vain, would hope to be.

Oni Nature
Saki has long since embraced the darkness roiling within him. Being one with the Beast allows him to perceive, oni, demons, and similarly fiendish spirits and supernatural entities for what they truly are. This is not to say that he may instantly recognize their identity, though he will know a demon is standing before him regardless of its disguise. Anything that may affect - or not affect - demons, yokai, and oni apply just as well to the Shredder. Conversely, angels, beneficent spirits, and the like will know Saki for an accursed creature should they cross paths with him. The Shredder would have it no other way.




Leadership
Saki is a callous and cruel man, but he is cunning as well. It was not through trickery alone that he was able to seize control of the Hand. He has a way with words, and more ways with people. Over the years, he has come to understand what people need most, fear most, and how best to exploit such desires to get what he wants. Saki is a leader that the Hand would gladly follow into oblivion, as the chosen vessel of Krahllak. And that is Saki’s charm as but a mortal man, to say nothing of his supernatural will.



Peak Human Fitness
Oroku Saki has trained his body to the utmost for what the mortal host is capable of. He can break bones with ease, shatter swords in a single strike, and give (brief) chase to automobiles on foot. His skills as a mortal border on the unreal, which blur the line further with his abilities that are genuinely supernatural. Even without such abilities, Oroku Saki can fight on equal footing with the likes of the Batman and Daredevil.

Martial Arts
Oroku Saki the man has mastered several martial arts over his lifetime, most commonly pursuing styles that emphasize quick, lethal force. He does not use martial arts as a form of defense or expression, but solely as a means of executing his enemies with brutal efficiency. The Shredder, on the other hand, has spent centuries learning ways of fighting from around the globe, from mentors and tomes that have since been lost to time. Because of this uncanny wealth of expertise, the Shredder is considered to be one of the best combatants in the world.

Ninjutsu
In past lifetimes as well as this one, Saki has devoted himself to the myriad arts of ninjutsu. The range of skills encompassed is vast, though most of this expertise pertains to covert and clandestine traits, from general stealth to ropework to cooking to sabotage to wilderness survival to assassination to sleight of hand to needlework, to name a few examples. Saki maintains a diverse array of skills at his disposal, all of which he has made keen use of at one point or another in his storied lives.



Mastery of Weapons
In addition to martial arts, Saki has mastered expertise in dozens of weaponry. These weapons range on a global scale, though he is understandably most proficient with Japanese weapons, the katana, wakizashi, and similar blades. However, it is rare for Saki to take up these arms. There is only one weapon with which he was truly bonded, and it is lost to him… for the time being.

Culinarian
Oroku Saki has an extraordinarily refined palate. This is reflected in his refined mastery of cutting, simmering, deep-frying, steaming, grilling, and all things associated with the kitchen and campfire. In his current life Saki’s public identity is that of an unrivaled master chef, and though it is not his true self, it is as much a part of who he is as his own limbs. Saki is most fond of dishes involving reptilian and amphibian meats.

Spiritualist
Oroku Saki is a devoted to Shinto practices, and actively maintains shrines, both in his personal home and throughout his home city. While his true nature is ostensibly at odds with these practices, Saki is well versed in the beliefs of his homeland’s folklore and mythology… especially in the ways in which his master is vulnerable to such magics. Saki is not a practitioner of magic per se, though he is intimately familiar with its workings and how it pertains to demons and curses.

Weapons/Items:
Shredder Gauntlet

Contrary to popular belief, the bladed gauntlets for which the Shredder is known were not a part of his repertoire until very recently. After witnessing Laura Kinney’s adamantium claws firsthand, Oroku Saki went to great lengths to forge two-pronged spiked gauntlets that emulated her natural form. These gauntlets are primarily made of omnium steel, which is a similar metal alloy that, while not as potent as adamantium and similar metals, suffices for many of the same feats. They can cut through most materials with ease, and can penetrate heavy armor short of substances of a like quality as adamantium and beyond. The gauntlets themselves are mundane, little different from wrist bracers that one affixes to themselves with straps and plate compression. These gauntlets are Saki’s primary weapon of choice.

Ninjutsu Weapons
In addition to the Shredder’s Gauntlets, Saki employs a wide variety of weaponry suited for ninjutsu when the situation calls for their respective art. Nunchaku, bo staff, sai, and even the occasional nodachi are among a few of the weapons that Saki may use against his opponents. He seldom carries them on their person, though they are seldom far when he is residing at one of his many facilities.

Modern Amenities
The man Oroku Saki is well made on the esteemed career of a professional chef, and it shows. Though he lives modestly, he is capable of affording many luxuries that other wealthy entrepreneurs would struggle to maintain. His civilian identity itself suffices for many investments, including most amenities that someone like him may come to need at any given moment.

Hand Resources
Saki’s resources as the leader of the Hand increases his opportunities by several degrees. Little is beyond his reach when it comes to money, nor when it comes to mystical artifacts and lost expertise. The Hand as an order is centuries old, and Saki is privy to all of its secrets, should he ever have need of them.



Appearance

Image:



Physical Appearance:
Oroku Saki is a man of many personas. Each appearance he makes is carefully tailored for the encounter at hand, ever careful to ensure that he never appears out of balance for any given meeting. Some things, however, remain constant. A severe man, slightly above average in height for a man of Japanese descent. Medium-length to long black hair, typically restrained in one way or another. Deep eyes that stare into one’s very being. In most cases, however, there is nothing about the man Oroko Saki that would suggest that he is anything like what he truly is - he does not appear that built, or agile, or even unsettling… provided that one cannot see as mystics do.
Clothing and Armor:
Oroku Saki is a man of sterling tradition. This is reflected in his choice of attire. He seldom (if ever) wears modern clothing, preferring to wear garments that evoke times long past. Whether it is ceremonial robes passed down by his ancestors or modest clothing befitting a conservative sushi chef, Saki is keen to adhere to older styles of clothing rather than the corporate formality of today. That is not to say that Saki will not dress himself accordingly if it is required of him to indulge such decadent fashion… but he will not enjoy it.

Traditional Attire


The armor of the Shredder is a different matter. In the past, Oroku Saki’s alter ego was little more than that of a ninja warrior, clad in pristine leathers, hides, and silks that, were it not for his signature headpiece, did not set him much apart from his peers. Over time, he applied additional armor plating to his shoulders and joints as necessary, sometimes - though not always - investing in armor that was more fearsome than it was agile.

Shredder Armor


Saki’s covert armor pales before the Koroi Yoroi, the massive armor that was inexplicably bestowed upon Krahllak, the first Shredder. It completely covers the wearer in an infernal visage - when the Beast takes hold, little of the armor itself needs to change, so much is it like that old demon. It is made of an infernal metal, one unknown to this world, possibly even to this universe. Whatever it is, the Koroi Yoroi is impervious to all but the mightiest of blows. Adamantium cannot penetrate it, nor Uru. The origin of the Koroi Yoroi remains a mystery to this day, seeming to outdate even the Shredder itself. Saki rarely clads himself in this armor. While it is a mythic armor, it is that much more dangerous with the malevolent influence it exerts upon his will. Only in times of absolute necessity will Saki wear the Koroi Yoroi.

Koroi Yoroi





Personality

Sexual Orientation:
Heterosexual.
General Personality:
Oroku Saki maintains facades within facades, each of them in some way representative of the countless lives that he has experienced before this one. He ios careful to maintain his public image, namely that of a stoic master chef nestled away in the city of his namesake. He makes no mistakes in the public eye, and has accrued a formidable reputation for himself and his work. Though this persona is but the surface of Saki’s intentions, one can find subtle signs of his true self if they are perceptive enough - one who has at times held the ear of the Prime Minister of Japan and other national figures is anything but magnanimous.

The true Oroku Saki is a man of many sins, the greatest of them all being pride. He is unable to accept defeat, nor suffer any setbacks to his name. Reputation and legacy is everything to him. Though Saki’s sense of honor is indeed twisted, he adheres to a personal code of strength, cunning, and cutthroat virtue that he believes sets him apart from the rest of his order, and indeed, the many criminals and terrorists that he courts for company. Saki does not, however, believe that he is making the world a better place, or even planning to unite the world (or even Japan) under his rule, in spite of his affiliation with such people. To those he has deemed worthy to know, he will admit one humility - it is the same humility that he has embraced for all of his past lifetimes: Supplication to the fiendish wretch burning within his bones. Krahllak, the Beast.



The Shredder has been an agent of the primordial demon for centuries. Perhaps longer, if Krahllak’s own mad writings have any truth to them. Whatever intentions Krahllak has, Saki is content to pursue these ends in lieu of his personal ambition, whatsoever they may be. He clearly possesses his own tenacity, if not for his coup against Hamato Yoshi, then for how ardently he has commanded the Hand in the years since. Instead, Saki entrenches himself in the affairs of oni, yokai, and a myriad of other monstrosities arcane and cosmic on his master’s behalf. There are few in the world so devoted to a higher cause, even one so foul as Krahllak.


Face/Voice: Hiroyuki Sanada.

Anything Else



Gallery





Character's History

Siblings:
None.
Mother:
Unknown. (Deceased)
Father:
Unknown. (Deceased)
Other Family:
Hamato Yoshi (Destined Nemesis)

History:



Nearly a millennia ago, there was a man by the name of Oroku Saki. He was a loyal blade of Clan Hamato, itself a venerated sect of warriors devoted to the continued peace of the material and spiritual realm alike. Hamato Yoshi, then master of this clan, was a close friend of his. Too close, and too humble. Saki harbored no such trepidations about the risks and rewards of garnering power for oneself. He wrested control of the clan leadership from Yoshi, who he framed as a man too softened by his years to weather the wars on the horizon. Only Oroku Saki would guarantee the clan’s survival. Yoshi was disgraced, and forced from his own people. Saki could not have been a more ideal candidate.



Saki had been observed by forces unknown since childhood. Even then he had been a cold person, unrelenting in his pursuit of personal gain. These traits blossomed in adulthood, at which point the true nature of his so-called benefactor became known to him. It introduced itself as an old spirit, who had long been venerated at the Hamato shrine, whose shrine had been neglected when Yoshi had led the clan. Now that a proper will had risen to the occasion, it offered its blessing to Saki, in the form of a fabled armor that would bring him unprecedented triumph. He accepted it without hesitation. This spirit was no Shinto guardian; it was Krahllak, an ancient oni abomination who was best known as The Beast. For time untold, the Hamato Clan had been charged with keeping Krahllak dormant, so that his evil could not be unleashed on the realm once more. Saki was numb to these revelations, as they made no difference to him. As The Shredder, the manifested will of The Beast, he would become the greatest shogun in Japan.



The Shredder would become that, and much more. Oroku Saki quickly lost himself within this new identity. His obsession with mastery of all things was subsumed within Krahllak’s bidding. The Sengoku period was rife with terrible strife, much of which was owed to the Shredder’s influence. Oroku Saki, however, was not the only Shredder throughout these turbulent times. The man’s body eventually grew feeble within the hellish Koroi Yoroi, and new candidates for the Beast’s power needed to be found. These were readily supplied - a destiny had formed between Krahllak and his sworn nemesis, the Eternal Tennin Ninja. Both were privy to states of reincarnation, constantly opposed to one another for as long as this old prophecy persisted. It is thanks to the Tennin and their allies that Japan (and indeed, the world at large) was not devastated by the Shredder’s bids for conquest.



The greatest of these conflicts in the centuries that followed was the matter of an ancient weapon that remains lost to this day. Twin swords, borne of an original whole, were forged by a swordsmith whose identity has been lost to time. One, Soultaker, was a reaper’s blade, a katana that consumed the spirit of every creature it slew. It was a terrible weapon that only increased in power the longer it was used throughout history, and it saw much. Its sibling, however, boasted power over the heavens themselves. The Shredder at the time wielded this weapon as Tengu-ō, “The Goblin King”, as the forging of this sibling blade had been influenced by Krahllak, who was himself an Elder Tengu within the yokai hierarchy. Fortunately for the world, this weapon was sundered from Shredder in a climactic showdown with the Tennin Ninja, and it became lost in the Pacific Ocean. Often referred to simply as the Sword of Tengu, this artifact remains missing to this day. This battle was a turning point in the Tennin’s war against Krahllak - the Hamato Clan was again led by one of its own, and its vows of hallowed serenity against the Beast were renewed.

Centuries passed, into the time of the modern period. Again, a man named Oroku Saki was an agent of the Hamato Clan, now known as the Hand, an illusive order operating in the shadows of Japan. Again, a man named Hamato Yoshi was a leader, though one who exercised caution and balance over force of will. Oroku Saki would not abide this. Many of his contemporaries shared his concerns. The Hand needed to be strong for the future of Japan. For their true master. Sonozaki Ryubee and Harada Keniuchio were Saki’s chief allies, and they quickly made plans to usurp Yoshi’s authority. This directly coincided an unexpected development elsewhere within the Hand, one that was the impetus for Keniuchio to involve Ryubee and Saki in the first place. He was facing resistance in his arranged marriage with Mariko Yashida, a union that would have cemented his stake in the Hand’s leadership. However, the interference of not only local 101 heroes - Kabuki and Kamen Rider Skull - but mutant gaijin outsiders threatened to unravel his carefully constructed conspiracy. At first, Saki considered this to be beneath his notice. Then he witnessed the one known as Wolverine defeat Keniuchio in single combat. Saki joined his Hand brethren in the battle, but it was too little too late. Ryubee was forced to go into hiding, and Saki was forced to return to Hamato Yoshi, feigning ignorance of the whole affair. He could not afford to wait any longer.



Using Terror’s network of shadows, his own cunning, and leveraging the assorted subdivisions within the Hand, Oroku Saki was able to build a coalition capable of overthrowing Hamato Yoshi and his retainers. In truth, it was an overwhelmingly successful coup d'etat. For all his wisdom, Yoshi never suspected that his own people would turn against him, nor in so great a fashion. Once more, the Hand swore allegiance to Oroku Saki. Once more, Oroku Saki became The Shredder, loyal hand of the Beast.

Alas, nature abhors a vacuum. While Saki intended to fill that void himself, many of his contemporaries within the Hand had the same idea. Terror was his acquaintance at best. Lord Death Man had departed Japan to pursue opportunities elsewhere. Maki Matsumoto was one of Shredder’s more pernicious rivals. But none of them were brazen enough to attempt open conflict with Saki - save for Kazuo Oyama, the man formerly known as Lord Deathstrike. His poor attempt at revolution was not a threat to the Shredder at that time - the new “Wolverine” was. Wary of the last time he had been to Japan, though apparently not wary enough to come himself, he dispatched a pale imitation of himself, a child no less, to confront the Shredder. She was not nearly a match for him - but her healing factor nearly allowed her terrible blows in their duel. Neither of them gained the upper hand, and eventually retreated to ponder their new experiences. Lord Deathstrike, on the other hand, incurred Krahllak’s wrath; not for any legitimate threat to the Shredder’s authority, but for disturbing the Beast and his servant in their moment of brief torpor following their encounter with this new Wolverine. After that day, nothing remains of Lord Deathstrike. Not even his bones were fit for the earth.



After this brief comedy of errors, the Shredder’s grip over the Hand and its various divisions was absolute. No one would question the wrath of someone who could obliterate a man to atoms. For the first time in the Shredder’s existence, its will turned away from Japan and to the world at large. Krahllak’s fixation on the Land of the Rising Sun had dulled his ambitions. Indeed, much worse may have transpired had the oni lord sought havoc abroad. Oroku Saki has wasted no time in cultivating alliances with like-minded warriors and visionaries across the globe. The greatest of these connections has been the terrorist organization COBRA, a group with surprisingly deep roots in the occult and blasphemous. While they did not necessarily bow to the Beast’s power, they certainly respected it. Orders such as the League of Assassins, however, were far too stubborn, inbred with vanity for the earth they so claimed to cherish. The Shredder looked forward to feasting upon the Demon’s pithy soul.


Role Play Sample:

”And who is come before us? Who d-”



The arrogance’s neck was met with two blades, sprouting from his wrist, then withdrawing. He didn’t have any time to grasp for air before he collapsed, and choked on his entrails. The man stepped inside, brushing past the door as it closed behind him. Several warriors attended his welcome - none of them were appetizing.

A smaller, painted girl lunged for him next. They shrieked, reaching out with white-and-red fingertips, toes, to make contact with anything. The intruder had no such purchase - he was dressed to the nines in old silks and hide. His forearms and the compression of his face beneath his mask was the only indication that he was human. He weaved to the left of an offending hand, then seized the follow-up leg before it could do anything. He jerked with his hand, and there was a sickening snap. He made three strikes against the stomach, temple, and solar plexus. Blood spurted from each wound, then finally when his mask crashed against his opponent’s feeble countenance, and sent him to the floor, closely behind the first.

Several mundane warriors joined the fray, from all sides, including from the rafters above and trap doors below. The intruder makes short work of them all with nothing but his fists and feet. Their numbers worked more against them than any of their individual fighting prowess may have helped, all of which was clearly lacking. Within a matter of minutes, bodies were strewn about the floor, painted fresh crimson. There were too many to count, in too many directions. The lone man stood among this throng of corpses. His garb was like the others, similarly stained in violence. None of it was his.

Though there were many more warriors ready to engage, this display gave them pause. One of their larger members lumbered forward. He was more stone than flesh, and taller by half. He took a wide stance, waiting to see how this intruder intended to harm him with his bare hands. To wit, the stranger flashed his arm in front of him. Suddenly, there were several small metal stars wedged between his fingers. He let them fly at this rock masquerading as a man, who did nothing to resist these projectiles. They stuck fast to him with soft clinks, though they were heavier than one might expect for a throwing weapon. This warrior made several rapid hand movements, then charged in a leaping motion. A second later, the plastic explosives within the stars detonated, scattering this guardian in hundreds of directions. This ninja, unfazed by the explosion, dove through what had been his opponent’s center like it was an agility obstacle.

This lone assailant came to a sliding stop before the far end of the room. Of those left in this room, there was only one young woman, terrified and indignant as she slowly backed away from the approaching ninja. She quickly hit her back on the pedestal, where the treasure of this enclave rested. The man stopped, lowering his arms in an ostensibly peaceful gesture, if for the moment. ”If you value your life, you will surrender that to me.”



The remaining warriors within this compound started rushing out, desperate to put a stop to this madman once and for all. The woman responded twofold: first, by placing the object on her finger. Then, with a final cry of vengeance. The item’s power was unleashed instantly. The ninja rose an arm to brace himself, to little avail. Everything within the room was frozen. Those in motion during the blast either segmented from their body or simply turned to sanguine mist. The woman herself was trapped within a massive block of ice.

For several minutes, everything was still. The underground dojo, despite becoming an environment of 0 Kelvin, was preserved. No human in this place survived. Within his personal icy prison, that lone intruder stared directly at the object responsible for this. Those eyes, formerly dark brown, began to simmer beneath the layers of ice that had formed over his body. That simmering turned to burning, until they were a fiery red. Over the next couple of minutes, this effect spread throughout his entire body. The “man” gradually regained his composure to move, and marched through the inhospitable tundra. The cold in his immediate vicinity evaporated, inexplicably turning to liquid at his touch. The same occurred to the woman’s block of ice when he pressed his hands against it. He let out a slow, gasping breath. It sounded like a dying animal. The ice gave, gave, and gave, until the finger of the woman was freed to the fresh air occupying this creature’s personal space. It became limp, hanging stuck against the rest of the prison that contained the woman’s form. He reached for the exposed finger, and ripped it from her hand like one broke a branch from a bush. He studied the object on the finger - an iron band, with a single symbol burned into its metal.

”零.” (Zero)